Dental burr holder



Oct. 4, 1938. H, JERUM 2,131,807

DENTAL BURR HOLDER Filed March 25, 1936 INVENTOR. f/smy Jena/r? Patented Oct. 4, 1938 PATENT, OFFHCE DENTAL BURR HOLDER Henry Jerum, New York, N. Y.

Application March 25,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a holder for dental burrs. It is an object of the invention to provide a construction for holdinga large'number of burrs in groups, only one memberof a group being with-- A: drawable at a time. The burrs of a group can only be withdrawn in a definite order, so that each burr is used successively and-then placed back after use into the group. This ensures that all the burrs of a group are subjected to equal wear. The burrs are held in "the holder in such a waythatthey are conveniently'selected and withdrawn, the cutting heads of the burrs pointing outward from their supports.

, The invention in my preferred form comprises a turret rotatably mounted on a base, said turret having a plurality of radially disposed chambers in which the burrs are held in piles, the burrs in a. pile being in single file. The chambersare so formed that only the bottom burr of the pile may be withdrawn, said burr after use being placed back in the chamber at the top of the pile. The chambers'instead'of being radially arranged may be arranged instead in parallel groups extending inwardly from the outer face ofthe turret, that is the face that extends up and down. Also instead of being cylindrical, the rotatable member may be polygonal as viewed in plan.

While not my preferred form, the member hav- 30, ing the chambers holding the burrs need not be rotatable. It can be, forexample, a long bar fixedly mounted, with the chambers extending inwardly from the front face of the bar.

Other objects and advantages will become apas" parent upon a further study of the description and drawing, in whichz-Fig. 1 is a plan of the holder with theglasscase removed and a portion of the holder broken away. A portion of the turret is broken away to expose the compartment in the base underneath. Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken along the line '2-2 of Fig. 1 with a portion of the glass case broken away and some of the smaller burrs shown dot and dashed in one of the chambers andfalling into the compartment in the base.

Fig. 3 is a partial section taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partial section taken along the broken line 4-4 of Fig. 1, some of the burrs being shown 50 dotted in one of the chambers, and

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the glass case to a smaller scale shown by itself.

Base 6 is provided with a compartment '1. Mounted upon the top of base 6 is a plate 8, held thereon by screws 9. Plate 8 is provided with a 1936, Serial No. 70,798

central opening above which and concentric therewith is mounted a flanged sleeve I 0, Screws llhold sleeve I fixed to plate 8. Extending upward from sleeve ii] is a stem l6 through which opening it extends. The upper end of stem i6 is threaded to receive knurled nut ll. 1

' Rotatably mounted on sleeve in is a turretcomprising three parts rigidly attached to each other, viz:a lower part [2, a ring shapedpart l3 'hav ing slots or chambers l4 therein, and a knob [5 10 extending over stem It; A shoulder is provided at the bottom of the thread on stem' it to prevent nut ll from binding on the top of knob i5 and thereby stopping said turret from being ro tatable. it

The floor of chambers i l is inclined from the horizontal, the outer portion of said floor being at a higher elevation than the inner portion. The inner wall of slots M is inclined from the vertical, the upper portion of said wall" being nearer the axis of rotation of the turret than the lower portion. In addition at the upper end of the wall there is an offset outward giving rise to a shoulder or stop 2!]. The sidewalls of slo'ts l l are provided in the front with flanges 'Zlwhich '25 partly close off the front of the slot, said flanges being rounded off at the top and cut away at the bottom to form a circular-opening 22.

Ring l3 of the turret has openings 23 drilled in it between slots M said openings extending only partly through lower part 12. The upper. ends of openings 23 are provided with ferrules 24. Holes 23 are provided to hold'the longer and larger diameter burrs, such as 25 and 2'6, slots [4 being adapted to hold the smaller and more frequently used burrs, such as are shown dotted at 21. In'part I2 below and in axial alignment with holes 23 are holes 3. The upper part of holes I8 isof larger diameter than the lower part, providing thereby a shoulder for supporting the bottom of the burrs. The lower and smaller diameter part of holes i8 is provided for drainage as will be explained.

The standard burrs used in dental practice have a cylindrical shank with a long tapered neck at the front, the smallest diameter of the taper being toward the front just behind the cutting or drilling head.

In use, the dentist fills each slot I 4 of the holder with a particular kind of a burr, say seven burrs of the same kind per slot, for the size of holder shown in the drawing. In loading the slot or chamber M, the neck or narrower part of the shank comes in the narrow slit between flanges 21, the bottom burr of the group coming within the circular opening 22, which has a diameter somewhat larger than the standard diameter of the burr shank. Because of the engagement of the neck of the burrs, above the bottom one, in the narrow slit between flanges 2 I, said burrs cannot be removed by an outward pull. Only the bottom burr at opening 22 can be pulled out. When the bottom burr is pulled out, the one next above drops into opening 22.

Shoulder 20 is provided inward of the rear wall of slots I l, so that in case of an accidental pushing down of the outer projecting end of a burr, thereby tilting the burr so that the rear end of its shank moves upward, said tilted burr will not come out of the slot at its upper end, shoulder 20 limiting the upward movement of said rear end. This is particularly likely to happen when one of the lower burrs of the pile is tilted, the upper ones being then readily thrown out the top of the slot were it not for shoulder 20.

After a burr has been used, it is set back into the top of that slot containing similar burrs from which it was taken, sliding down to become the topmost burr of the pile.

By my construction and method of use, all the burrs of a pile are subjected to equal use, as they are used successively being pulled out of the bottom of the pile and then piled on top.

The rotational mounting of the turret, together with knob I5, provides a convenient means to rotate the turret to bring the particular pile of burrs, desired at any time, opposite the hand.

The inclination of slots or chambers It, so that the burrs set with their forward ends higher than their rear, is to prevent the lowest burr of the pile, at opening 22, from falling out and also makes it more convenient to grasp the outer end of the bottom burr.

When one of the burrs of the size held in slots I4 is too worn for further use, it is dropped into hole I9, falling through into compartment I. When compartment I is filled with used burrs, plate 8 and the turret are removed by withdrawing screws 9, to permit the emptying of said compartment.

A glass dome 28 is provided to encase the turret for dust prevention.

Base 6 is provided with a mound 29 under hole l9, so that the burrs dropped through said hole will be deflected'to one side, preventing their piling up under said hole until sufficient burrs have been deposited.

The turret is made readily removable in order to provide an easy way to sterilize the burrs without removing them from it. When nut IT is un screwed, by lifting up on knob I5, the turret can be removed from sleeve Ill and its stem I6. The

turret, as will be remembered, comprises part I2, part I3 and knob I5. One of the commonest ways of sterilizing is by boiling in water. In order to provide drainage after this is done and before the turret is replaced, a hole 30 is provided in each of chambers I4. The lower part of holes I8 furnish drainage for the lower part of the larger burrs 25 and 26.

I claim:

1. A holder for dental burrs comprising a member having an outer face extending in an up and down direction with a plurality of chambers extending inward from said face for holding the burrs, the length of said chambers inward from the face to their rear walls being less than the length of the burrs placed therein, with the burrs placed to extend inwardly, whereby the front of the burrs projects outward from said face, said member having a top face with the top of said chambers open at said face, said chambers being of a width and depth to hold the burrs so placed in a single file pile one above the other, the front of said chambers being open at the bottom sufficiently for the withdrawal outwardly of the bottom burr of the pile, but narrowed above to prevent the withdrawal outwardly of burrs in the pile above said bottom burr, and stops located outward from the inner walls of said chambers near their upper ends for limiting the tilting of the burrs upwardly at their rear.

2. A holder for dental burrs comprising a hollow base portion having a radially extending flange at its bottom, a ring'shaped portion encompassing the upper part of the base portion and fixed thereto, and an upwardly extending knob attached to at least one of said portions, said ring shaped portion having a plurality of laterally spaced chambers therein extending from the lateral face of said latter portion generally inward for holding the burrs, the length of said chambers front to back being substantially less than the length of the burrs to be held therein, said chambers being of a width and depth to hold the burrs in a single file pile one above the other.

3. A holder for dental burrs comprising a hollow base portion having a radially extending flange at its bottom, and a ring shaped portion encompassing the upper part of the base portion and fixed thereto, the bottom of the ring shaped portion being spaced vertically upward from the top face of said flange and extending over it, said ring shaped portion having a plurality of laterally spaced chambers therein extending from the lateral face of said latter portion generally inward for holding the burrs on their sides.

HENRY J ERUM. 

